Francis Lawrence Calls James Gunn “An Impediment” to ‘Constantine 2,’ Says He's “More Hopeful" Now That They're Gone

James Gunn wrote on Instagram this week that he was "incredibly relieved" to be out at DC Studios. Turns out he's not the only one.

Francis Lawrence is relieved too. In fact, he's kinda happy. The "Hunger Games" director tells Collider that he's now "more hopeful" that "Constantine 2" will finally happen, and he didn't bother being diplomatic about why.

Not that I want anybody to lose their jobs… We have a script, we've been wanting to make it, and the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making it. So, we are now more hopeful as of yesterday's news that maybe now there will be another opportunity.

So Gunn and his team needed to get out of the way. They were an "impediment," not that Lawrence wants "anybody to lose their jobs." LOL. None too subtle there, pal. Filmmakers don't usually say this kind of thing on the record.

It also confirms what I suspected last week. When DC Studios hired "Evil Dead Burn" director Francis Galluppi to write a brand-new Constantine movie, the potential Keanu-starring, Francis Lawrence-directed sequel was basically dead. James Gunn and Peter Safran shelved it. Lawrence has now effectively confirmed that himself.

In October 2025, Keanu signed off on a new draft from Akiva Goldsman, and the plan was to take it to the studio. Keanu later said the pitch had been presented to DC Studios.

So what happened? Lawrence isn't saying, and maybe he doesn't need to. Gunn was building his own universe. A Keanu Elseworlds movie was never going to be a priority, and greenlighting your own Constantine reboot is a pretty clear way of saying so.

To be fair, I've been skeptical about this sequel too. I called the idea of lightning striking twice wishful thinking. The 2005 film earned about $230M on a $100M budget, got mixed reviews, and became a cult favorite on home video and streaming. Goldsman's track record runs from "A Beautiful Mind" all the way down to "Batman & Robin."

That said, there's a script, a star who clearly wants to do it, and a director so invested that he all but cheers when the bosses who froze it get fired. We'll see what Jeremy Latcham does with "Constantine 2." I bet IP-hungry David Ellison loves the idea. Either way, Lawrence wouldn't be talking this openly if he didn't think the door had just been opened.